Cardverse. Episode 1

“At least, shouldn’t have pried but we do have to call you something–“

“We don’t have to call them anything,” mutters the King and thrusts through the bushes. He trips over some undergrowth and leverages himself with the sceptre.

The Queen puts you down and goes to his side.

“Get out,” snaps the King at you and feebly waves the Queen off. “I’m fine,” he grumbles, but she steadies him. The King sighs and lays his hand in the hook of her arm.

His braid is a mess, and green and brown smudges cover his shirt. Both eyes and hair look back to normal.

“We can’t just leave them in here,” urges the Queen of Wands and pulls a twig out from his braid.

“We very damn well can,” snaps the King of Wands and Swords.

“When you take a card, you lose your soul.” The stranger’s eyes glow brighter.

You feel the remains of your world creeping from under your feet. The last few mirrors slip. “But I’ll live… right?” Your eyes are on the only one left. Right behind the stranger. He can still back out of the deal and make it out alive, for what you know about loyalties.

“Yeah. You get to live.” Slowly, he pulls out his hand, and something smoulders through his clenched fingers.

“Then I’m taking it!” you snap and pounce.

Nothingness licks at the heels of your sneakers.

The Knight wrinkles her sharp nose at that. “I will learn to like him.” She straightens back up and misses one step to be behind the King once more. “For you.” She adds it so quietly that the King isn’t sure she heard the Knight right.

And if your encounter earlier has taught you anything… Run!

“I can do it!” yells the King and dashes towards the stairs. “I can revive them… a-all.”

Or not. The King trips and falls, this time onto his stomach.

“Each card has only one special power,” Lars… recites? Yes, that definitely sounds like somebody else’s words. “I’m the creation card.” He sits up, grins and lifts his palm to you. A faint shimmer appears.

Pretty. It looks like a pale blue snowflake, and slowly twirls and floats above Lars’s palm. But kinda… useless? Well, harmless more so. Of course, you don’t tell him that.

“Yeah. What’s Union magic exactly?”

A-and Lars buries his face back into the pillow. Ugh, it’s so hard to make out what he mumbles into it.

“Magics. We use it on the Union, but I can’t do anything. I left before I was eight. We don’t teach the Magics before ten.”

“Why?”

“Too dangerous.”

“So you–“

“Borrowed my great grandfather’s diary. He kept the Magics’ casts in it.”

Borrowed, sure.

“Sara. Step. Aside,” he rasps and breaks into a cough. The vines thin and lessen in numbers. First, their tips don’t lash the air around the King, then they crawl back to his wrists. Most fade away before reaching his hands. The messy tip of his braid also pales to the natural blonde.

The Queen crosses her arms. “Theodore Jansen.”

“Step aside.” He sighs and hunches his shoulders. “Please.”

The Wands King is back to normal. His knees shake, and the King collapses– the Queen catches him. Kind of too easily. She pulls him up, but he can’t stand on his own, and his feet slide. She ends up taking him under the arms, turning around and hauling. The back of this head is buried in her chest, and his heels drag on the floor.

“Theo–“ The Queen blocks his way.

“Sara–“ he growls and clutches the blood-red vines. They still, and some short edges coil up to his elbows instead.

“Theo, please calm do–“

“I’m bleeding calm!” he snaps, and the vines shoot up.

Crack! You crawl further into the shadows and hold your breath. The slashed remains of a tapestry glide and reveal the deep marks on the wall as well.

“Step aside, damn it,” grits the King and hangs his head. He’s breathing heavily and wobbles to the side.

“Language.” The Queen stands with her back to you so you can’t see her expression. Her regal posture speaks clear enough.